Packing with closing lid provided with a tear-off guarantee strip



Oct. 25, 1966 A. MICHELS 3,281,052

PACKING WITH CLOSING LID PROVIDED WITH A TEAR-OF'F GUARANTEE STRIP Filed March 9, 1964 INVENTOR ANDRE NICHELS 4mm M,

United States Patent Ofiice 3,281,052 Patented Oct. 25, 1966 3,281,052 PACKING WITH CLOSING LID PROVIDED WITH A TEAR-OFF GUARANTEE STRI P Andr Michels, 6,8,10 Rue dAlexandrie, Paris, France Filed Mar. 9, 1964, Ser. No. 350,430 Claims priority, application France, Mar. 8, 1963, 927,298, Patent 1,360,224 4 Claims. (Cl. 229-51) This invention relates to packings made of cardboard or similar material which consist of folded sheets of material constituting in combination the side walls of the container and the flaps adapted to constitute by gluing, stapling or other fastening method the bottom and lid or top of the container.

It is already known to manufacture packings of this general character which comprise a lid which cannot be used or opened without tearing off a guarantee strip. However, the thus release lid is definitely unsuitable for properly closing the packing in case of re-use and in frequent occurrences the tearing-01f of the guarantee strip damages the lid which becomes useless.

To permit the re-closing of the lid after a first use for preserving the content of the packing, lugs and slits are formed in the lid flaps but this is a source of difliculties for the user who in most cases neglects these closing means and leaves the packing open or half-open.

It is the chief object of this invention to provide an improvement in the manufacture of lids of the type set forth hereinabove whereby after the guarantee strip has been torn off a first time the user can re-close the packing properly after each use there-of.

To this end there is impressed, in one of the flaps which is to constitute the lid or top of the container by overlapping a similar registering flap, two lines of incisions forming therebetween a tear-off guarantee strip, the incision line adjacent to the folding line of the top flap of the packing displaying at least one change of direction towards the other incision line to form at least one lug constituting an extension of the flap portion remaining after the tearing of the guarantee strip, the underlying flap having formed therein at least one notch corresponding to the lug or lugs of the upper flap, said notch or notches being so shaped as to permit the resilient engagement of the lug or lugs of said upper flap under said lower flap.

Said incisions may be made along two parallel lines having a variable relative spacing so as to diverge and converge alternately while forming an acute angle in relation to their median line; these lines of incisions are preferably broken lines in order to preserve a minimum lid strength.

Thus, a regular tearing of the strip of material between said two lines of incisions is obtained, the tearing force being exerted each time only on a material portion extending between two incisions.

The change of direction of the line of incisions formed on the upper flap on the side of its folding line on the packing body may be straight or curved and disposed centrally or laterally of this flap; two or more changes of direction may be contemplated in the case of large-sized packings; finally, the number and shape of the notched portions of the underlying flap co-act with the upper lidforming flap corresponding to those of the lugs thereof to permit the engagement of said lugs by simply exerting a pressure thereon for closing the lid after use.

The other line of incisions may also be straight, curved or saw-toothed.

This method of manufacture will now be described more in detail in connection with a specific form of embodiment of a packing according to this invention with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view from above of a packing;

FIGURE 2 is a view similar to FIGURE 1, showing the tearing off of the guarantee strip;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view from above of the packing from which the tear-oft" guarantee strip has been removed;

FIGURE 4 is a similar view showing the closed packing; and

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary plan view from above showing a detail of the lid.

The packing illustrated by way of example in the drawing is a box-like assembly 1 of rectangular or parallelipipedic configuration having its small sides 13 extended by folding flaps or bellows 2 constituting the lid and bottom in conjunction with other flaps 3, 4 forming the extensions of the longer sides 14.

The upper flap 3 is glued on the underlying flap 4 when the packing is full, and it is provided with a longitudinal guarantee strip bounded by two parallel rows 6, 7 of incisions constituting two tear-01f lines.

As shown on a larger scale in FIGURE 5, each tearolf line consists, as seen in the tearing direction F, of a series of incisions 8 diverging from each other by pairs to form an acute angle a with respect to the median line before converging towards each other up to a point located short of the next pair of incisions. These incisions are separate from one another in order not to impair the strength of flap 3.

Thus, with this arrangement when the end 9 of strip 6 is pulled in the direction of the arrow F the material, for example cardboard, of the flap is cut element by element, thus tearing the material cleanly between the two lines of incisions, the tractive effort being exerted alternatively on one and the opposite element, instead of simultaneously on both sides of the strip.

The incisions 6 of the row adjacent the free edge of flap 3 are rectilinear in the example illustrated, but these incisions may also be curved or saw-toothed. On the other hand, the incisions 7 of the row adjacent to the hinge or folding line 11 of said flap 3 approach the row of incisions 6, for example in the central zone, to pro vide a lug 10 after the guarantee strip has been torn off.

Once the strip 5 has been removed, the two flaps 3, 4 are used for re-closing the lid, for example in the socalled punch or strike type, that is, by causing the lug 10 of flap 3 to be tucked in elastically under the other flap 4, as shown in FIGURE 4. To this end the flap 4 is formed with a notch or like cut portion 12 corresponding in shape to the lug 10 to permit the insertion of this lug under the flap 4 to keep the lid closed.

The line of incisions 6 formed on the lower flap 4 may be linear, curved or saw-toothed, and the line of incisions formed on the upper flap 3 may also be linear, curved or saw-toothed; the number and shape of the changes of direction 7 of this line in relation to the other line deternotches or cut portions 12 of flap 4 being on the other hand shaped and dimensioned accordingly to permit their engagement by simply exerting a pressure on the flap 4.

The lid and bottom flaps of the packing may be secured by gluing, stapling orot-her conventional method, the .portion 15 of the upper flap 3 remaining in position without any inconvenience over the lower flap 4 subsequent to the removal of the guarantee strip.

Of course, various modifications and variations may be brought to the form of embodiment described and illustrated herein by way of example, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim is: t

1. A carton having a closure comprising a first substantially rectangular inner flap, an outer substantially rectangular flap overlying said inner flap and having an outer marginal portion secured thereto 'by adhesive, said inner underlying fiap.including an inwardly extending notch defined along an edge thereof, means defining a tear strip extending across said overlying flap from one side to the opposite side and located so that the marginal outer portion of said overlying fla-p is secured to said underlying flap and the. remainder is unsecured, .said overlying flap unsecured, portion including a projecting lug portion formed by removal of said tear strip which projects outwardly beyond the notch portion of said underlying flap, the unsecured portion of said overlying flap being foldable over a portionof said underlying flap and to have its projecting lug portion extend into the notch of'said underlying flap.

2. A carton having a closure comprising a first substantially rectangular inner flap, an outer substantially rectangular flap overlying said inner flap and having an outer marginal portion secured thereto by adhesive, said inner underlying flap including an inwardly extending notch definedlalong an edge thereof, means defining a tear strip extending across said overlying flap from one side to the opposite side and located so that the marginal outer portion of said overlying flap is secured to said underlying flap and the remainder is unsecured, said overlying flap unsecured portion including a projecting lug portion formed by removal of said tear strip which projects outwardly beyond the notch portion of said underlying flap, the unsecu'redportion of said overlying flap being foldable over a portion of said underlying flap and to have its projecting lug portion extend into the notchof said underlying flap, and an end flap underlynig each end of said underlying flap and hingedly connected thereto.

3. A carton having a closure comprising a first substantially rectangular inner flap, an outer substantially rectangular flap overlying said inner flap and having an outer marginal portion secured thereto by adhesive, said inner underlying flap including an inwardly extending n-otch defined along an edge thereof, means defining a tear strip extending across said overlying flap from one side to the opposite side and located so that the marginal outer portion of said overlying flap is secured to said underlying flap and the remainder is unsecured, said overlying flap unsecured portion including a projecting lug portion formed by removal of said tear strip which projects outwardly beyond the notch portion of said underlying flap, the unsecured portion of said overlying flap being 'foldable over -a portion of said underlying fiap and second end walls and first and second side walls comprising a first underlying flap extending from a first side wall between opposite first and second end walls across a substantial portion of the open end of said carton and having an outer edge with an inwardly extending notch portion, a second overlying flap having an outer marginal edge portion adhesively sealed over said first underlying flap and extending between said first and second end walls, a guarantee tear strip defined across said overlying flap by spaced pairs of slit lines, said guarantee strip being removable by tearing away from said overlying flap and defining after removal a central projecting lug portion on an unsecured portion of said overlying flap which is engageable into the notch portion of said underlying flap, the outer marginal edge of said overlying flap remaining secured to the underlying flap.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,985,590 12/1934 Weiss 22951 X 2,354,543 7/1944 Ratcliff 22951X 3,131,851 v 5/1964 Pace 22951 JOSEPH R. LECLAIR, Primary Examiner. FRANKLIN T. GARRETT, Examiner. 

1. A CARTON HAVING A CLOSURE COMPRISING A FIRST SUBSTANTIALLY RECTANGULAR INNER FLAP, AN OUTER SUBSTANTIALLY RECTANGULAR FLAP OVERLYING SAID INNER FLAP AND HAVING AN OUTER MARGINAL PORTION SECURED THERETO BY ADHESIVE, SAID INNER UNDERLYING FLAP INCLUDING AN INWARDLY EXTENDING NOTCH DEFINED ALONG AN EDGE THEREOF, MEANS DEFINING A TEAR STRIP EXTENDING ACROSS SAID OVERLYING FLAP FROM ONE SIDE TO THE OPPOSITE SIDE AND LOCATED SO THAT THE MARGINAL OUTER PORTION OF SAID OVERLYING FLAP IS SECURED TO SAID UNDERLYING FLAP AND THE REMAINDER IS UNSECURED, SAID OVERLYING FLAP UNSECURED PORTION INCLUDING A PROJECTING LUG PORTION FORMED BY REMOVAL OF SAID TEAR STRIP WHICH PROJECTS OUTWARDLY BEYOND THE NOTCH PORTION OF SAID UNDERLYING FLAP, THE UNSECURED PORTION OF SAID OVERLYING FLAP BEING FOLDABLE OVER A PORTION OF SAID UNDERLYING FLAP AND TO HAVE ITS PROJECTING LUG PORTION EXTEND INTO THE NOTCH OF SAID UNDERLYING FLAP. 